AGRICULTURE. 61 



or on each tunnland of cultivated land throughout the 

 country 3 rqr. 32 6. 



Malmstrom adds : "From the year 1835 this mortgage 

 debt has been steadily increasing, and this evidences a 

 greater speculation in estates and an increased price,, because 

 usually a greater or lesser part of the purchase-money is 

 allowed to remain on mortgage ; and to what a degree land 

 speculation has risen in Sweden is proved by the feet that 

 estates in the country in 1831 were sold for the amount of 

 23,000,000 rqr., in 1845 for 32,000,000 rqr., in 1855 for 

 67,000,000 rqr., in 1857 for 94,000,000 rqr., in 1858 for 

 67,000,000 rqr., and in 1859 for 64,000,000 rqr. The great 

 increase in 1857 was owing to the fact that the harvests of 

 the two previous years had been good, prices had temporarily 

 risen, and people were literally mad to buy estates. Now, 

 however, there is not nearly so much speculation, and estates 

 have consequently fallen in value. 



The great increase in land speculation, as well as in the 

 amount of the mortgage debt, is owing to the facility of 

 borrowing money which was furnished to the buyers of 

 estates by hypothek (or mortgage) companies, the first of 

 which, that in Skane, was established in 1836. Now there 

 are ten such companies. These, however, are all amalga- 

 mated into one Hypotheks' Bank, which furnishes money to 

 the others, and regulates their operations. In 1861 the then 

 existing hypotheks institutions lent out 75,782,457 rix- 

 dollars. 



Well may A^gardth remark that ' ' want of capital is an old 

 complaint in Sweden, and we have from time out of mind en- 

 deavoured to help ourselves by borrowing. But the loan 

 must be repaid, and our produce has never yet -been able to 

 keep pace with our obligations, much less to encourage us in 

 employing new capital. Our products quickened for a time 

 by this false support, have, as soon as it has been withdrawn, 

 relapsed again into an imbecility even greater than that from 

 which they have just sprung, and a need of fresh obligations 

 has returned only the more pressing, and has been the more 

 severely felt, because to poverty is now added debt. Is it 



